View record salmon at WA state dam

The Wenatchee World via USA Today reports on the record number of sockeye salmon now making their way through Washington State's Rocky Reach Dam to their Canadian spawning grounds.

This year at Rocky Reach, the numbers of returning adult sockeye have surged past 271,000, said Steve Hemstrom, Chelan County PUD senior fisheries biologist. More than 247,000 of those swam through the dam's viewing windows in the last 22 days. The peak run for one 24-hour period occurred July 5 when 23,705 sockeye were counted. That's an average of about 1,000 per hour.

Many of the returning sockeye, now fighting their way up the Columbia River, will likely make a left turn at the Okanogan River and swim north to spawn in Lake Osoyoos, Hemstrom said. Curious observers at a high vantage point — say, the Okanogan River bridge in Omak — could likely see hundreds, maybe thousands of these fish making their way to Canadian home waters, he added.

Read the full story: Record number of sockeye salmon on view at Washington dam

Photo from Don Seabrook / The Wenatchee World / AP

More July 4th travelers than last year

USA Today reports that more people than last year will be "hitting the road" this July Fourth holiday because of their bursting need to get away.

About 34.9 million will take a trip at least 50 miles from home, up 17.1% from 2009, and 90% of them will travel by car, AAA projects.

"Some Americans are feeling more confident about their personal financial situation compared to a year ago," says Troy Green, AAA's national spokesman. Also, he sees "pent-up demand," because many Americans stayed home last year, which had the least number of Fourth of July travelers this decade.

Read the full story: 'Pent-up demand' for travel erupts over July 4th holiday

Photo by Keith Srakocic / AP

Oil spill exhibit at Iowa aquarium

USA Today reports on the Iowa aquarium exhibiting Gulf of Mexico oil spill consequences.

The National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa was set to display Gulf of Mexico highlights, but decided to change the exhibit after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster; which continues to affect the area.

The main tank — the size of a school bus — will contain water and artificial coral, its sides adorned with window stickers that look like oil.

"It will look like the oil is sinking down and about to cover the coral, which will kill the coral," said Jerry Enzler, the museum's executive director.

Anywhere from 67 million to 127 million gallons of oil have spilled since the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig that killed 11 workers and blew out a well 5,000 feet underwater. BP PLC was leasing the rig from owner Transocean Ltd.

[The exhibit] will be a powerful message, said Steve Feldman, a spokesman for the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a nonprofit accrediting group based in Silver Springs, Md.

"The upclose connection to animals is very powerful. It's part of how we teach our children about nature and in this case, man's impact on nature," Feldman said.

Read the full story: Iowa aquarium exhibit highlights oil spill

Photo from National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium via AP

Interstate to trees near St. Louis arch

USA Today reports on the plans to green-up the interstate highway near the St. Louis, Missouri arch.

An environmental group wants to remove Interstate 70 from the downtown area and create a tree-lined boulevard according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

For years, civic leaders, including former Republican Sen. John Danforth, have sought to find a way to connect downtown with the Arch grounds and the river. Right now, the interstate makes it difficult to move freely from downtown. Bridges cross above the interstate, but traffic is heavy and walking can be dangerous.

The National Park Service, which operates the Arch and its grounds, launched the international competition to redesign the grounds.

Read the full story: Big changes in store for area around St. Louis arch

Photo from SLANAC

New Mexico launches ecotourism programs

USA Today reports on the new ecotourism projects New Mexico is launching this summer.

Tourism is New Mexico's No. 2 industry, behind oil and gas production, and brings in an estimated $5.7 billion annually. And if ecotourism can be fairly described as nature-based specialty travel or wilderness experiences that enrich and educate, the state thinks it has something to offer.

Visitors are attracted by "that sense of place we have here in New Mexico," said Deputy Tourism Secretary Jennifer Hobson, who oversees the initiative. "They want to go someplace where they can learn something, have a story to tell, meet the local people."

Read the full story: New Mexico embraces ecotourism efforts

Photo from New Mexico Tourism Department via AP

British Airways crews five-day strike

USA Today reports on the five-day strike of British Airways cabin crews.

Thousands of British Airways cabin crew began a five-day strike Monday, though the airline claimed it will still be able to carry 70% of passengers who have booked flights.

The walkout in the increasingly bitter feud follows the failure of weekend talks between the Unite union and the airline. A key issue is the union's demand that the airline restore employee travel benefits which the airline suspended following an earlier strike.

Read the full story: British Airways cabin crew begin 5-day strike

Photo by Carl De Souza / AFP / Getty Images

Now rent-a-bike at Grand Canyon NP

USA Today reports on the new bicycle rental program at the Grand Canyon.

Visitors can rent bikes at the visitor center starting May 1 from 8am to 6pm. This will continue through fall.

Bikes can be ridden through the South Rim which is bicycle-friendly according to the Park Superintendent Steve Martin.

Read the full story: Grand Canyon National Park offers bikes for rent

Photo from Tree Hugger / Ride the Spine

Mt Everest "death zone" bodies and trash to be removed by Sherpas

USA Today reports that a team of Sherpa mountain climbers will retrieve bodies and trash from Mount Everest's "death zone."

The team of 20 Sherpas wants to bring down at least five bodies from the trail in the "death zone" - the low oxygen area between the summit (29,029 ft) and South Col (26,240). This area is "treacherous" and around 300 climbers have died there since 1953 says the team leader. They declined to identify the bodies.

The group - all whom have summited the famous mountain - will depart May 1 and set up camp at the South Col.

They also plan to bring empty sacks and fill them with 6,600 pounds of trash - old tents, discarded oxygen canisters, food wrappings, etc. - that have accumulated on the popular mountain throughout the decades.

Garbage discarded on the mountain was a major environmental problem until the Nepalese government imposed strict rules about 15 years ago requiring visitors to return all of their gear and rubbish or risk losing a deposit.

It is unclear how much trash is left on the mountain, but several clean-up expeditions have brought down tons of garbage.

Read the full story: Sherpa team plans to clean Mt Everest's 'death zone'

Photo by Suolang Luobu / AP

Indiana Dunes local tourist boost

USA Today reports on the boost in tourism at the Indiana Dunes because more locals have opted to do "staycations."

Staycations, where you stay at home to vacation, became popular during the 2009 recession as a way to save money but still have the mentality of being on vacation.

Indiana Dunes is crediting a wave of "staycations" and improvements to the park for a record number of visitors in 2009.

A total of 1.1 million people visited the park last year, marking a 64% increase over 2005. That, in turn, boosted revenue by more than $1 million.

Read the full story: Staycations boost Indiana Dunes visitor numbers

Photo from hovercraftsales.com

Climb Himalayas in Indian Kashmir

USA Today reports that foreigners are now allowed to climb the Himalayas from the India side of Kashmir because violence from insurgents has declined.

Before the start of the insurgency by separatists in 1989, hundreds of thousands of tourists flocked to the region — known as the Switzerland of the east — to enjoy the glacier-fed streams flowing through the forests and grasslands or lounge on houseboats floating on Srinagar's Dal Lake.

The government in the Indian state of Jammu-Kashmir declared 2010 a "visit Kashmir year" following an improvement in the security situation, said [Farooq Ahmed Shah, a state tourism official].

"The decision has been taken at the highest level and nearly 100 peaks in Ladakh region are open for trekking and mountaineering," he said.

These peaks are situated at an altitude ranging from 9,840 feet (3,000 meters) to nearly 26,246 feet (8,000 meters).

Read the full story: India opens Himalayan peaks to foreigners

Photo from environmentandpeople.org

Two glaciers gone in Montana NP

USA Today reports that two glaciers are gone from Glacier National Park.

Warmer temperatures have reduced the number of named glaciers in the northwestern Montana park to 25, said Dan Fagre, an ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. He warned the rest of the glaciers may be gone by the end of the decade.

The park's glaciers have been slowly melting since about 1850, when the centuries-long Little Ice Age ended. They once numbered as many as 150, and 37 of those glaciers eventually were named.

A glacier needs to be 25 acres to qualify for the title.

Read the full story: Glacier National Park loses two more glaciers

Photo from National Parks Service / AP

Vicksburg, Mississippi to offer ecotourism

USA Today reports on Vicksburg, Mississippi's tourism diversity campaign including ecotourism offerings.

The town, mostly known for its Civil War battlefields, has suffered a decline in tourists in recent years. Tourism employs 16 percent of the town and county's workforce but brings in a significant portion of the area's income. Last year brought in $209 million.

New museums, the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and Mississippi river adventures are new offerings the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau (VCVB) hope will draw tourists back.

"The Mississippi River is a huge draw, and we need to tap into that more," said Bill Seratt, VCVB executive director. "As you travel between Memphis and Vicksburg, you really don't have the opportunity to get up close and personal with the Mississippi River. Here, you really get to understand what a power body of water it is."

Eco-tourism is one of just a few niche travel markets the VCVB is trying to tap into to diversify Vicksburg's image. A "soft adventure" tour guide focusing on camping, canoeing, hiking, biking and birding and is being developed. Another guide highlighting the artistry of the sculptures and monuments in the VNMP is also in the works.

Read the full story: Beyond battlefields

Photo by Chad Purser 2006

Sea lions back in SF

USA Today reports on the return of sea lions to San Francisco bay.

After an abrupt disappearance that left tourists disappointed and experts baffled, sea lions are slowly returning to San Francisco's Pier 39.

Last fall, after ballooning to a population of 1,700 animals layered two and three deep on the docks, the sea lions departed as if following orders, leaving behind only a few stragglers.

Marine experts believe the animals might have traveled 500 miles north, looking for fish and colder waters along the Oregon coast.

Read the full story: Famed sea lions returning to San Francisco's Pier 39

Photo by Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

Record decline in international air travel for 2009

USA Today reports that less people flew internationally last year, the sharpest decline in history.

[This will pave] the way for more losses and belt tightening in the months ahead, an industry trade organization said Wednesday.

Traffic declined 3.5% in 2009, with the average plane flying 75.6% full, the International Air Transport Association reported.

Read the full story: International air travel dropped most ever in 2009

Photo of Heathrow plane from Transport Crucible

Great Smoky Mountains saw more visitors in 2009

USA Today reports that the Great Smoky Mountains had a 5 percent increase in visitors last year; which was also its 75 year anniversary.

[Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson] attributed much of the increase to the anniversary celebration, but said the Smokies also benefited from a massive rock slide on Interstate 40 at the Tennessee-North Carolina state line. Many drivers used U.S. 441 through the park as an alternative route.

Read the full story: Great Smoky Mountains had 5% increase in visitors

Photo from destination 360

Fly solar for zero environmental impact?

Ecotravel News was away celebrating the holiday season but is now back and ready with new travel news for the (almost) new year.

USA Today reports on the solar-powered plane that engineers hope will be a prototype to be used for future commercial trips.

While the world's attention was tuned to the recent global climate conference in Copenhagen, in an old airplane hangar on a small Swiss airfield, a group of visionaries, dreamers and engineers was busily assembling a vehicle that is their solution to global climate change and the future of commercial aviation. This airplane uses no fossil or bio-fuels. It is a solar-powered airplane, collecting the sun's rays on 12,000 solar cells spread across its wings to charge the special lithium-polymer batteries that will continue to power the airplane from sunset till the next sunrise.

Read the full story: Can a solar-powered airplane be the future of aviation?

Photo by David Grossman

St Louis airport to ban all smoking, controversy

The St. Louis Dispatch via USA Today reports on the controversy versus the city and the county over how the 2011 smoking ban will affect Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

Mayor Francis Slay's smoking ban for the entire city of St. Louis will take effect on January 2011; and this will extend to the airport's smoking lounges (picture right).

Slay noted [on his blog] that the airport is a "political hybrid," in that it is in St. Louis County but owned by the city. But the decision on smoking, Slay said on his blog, belongs to the city, "as owner of the facility."

St. Louis County counselor Patricia Redington said the smoking lounge exemption is clear in the county ordinance.

But, she added, "If the city hands out citations to smokers in the lounge, the city's authority to do so will be an issue between the city and the people who are charged and will not be the county's concern."

Read the full story: A smoke-free St. Louis airport may pit city against county

Photo of Lambert Intl smoking lounge from Bridge and Tunnel club website

Kansas bison preserve to lure tourists

USA Today reports on the Kansas bison preserve that hopes to lure tourists.

Leaders from the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve near Strong City hope the 20 [bison] will be the beginning of a herd of about 100 that will roam the public parkland in the Flint Hills for all to see. They hope it is the beginning of much — a new tourist attraction, a new start for a species that once dominated the Flint Hills, and a new window for people to see the unique beauty of one of the continent's rarer ecosystems.

"Some of the beauty of our grasslands is a little more subtle," said Kristen Hase, chief of natural resources for the Flint Hills preserve. "This is going to be a big bang, basically."

Read the full story: Kansas preserve hopes bison will be a "big bang" for tourism

Photo by Travis Morisse / The Hutchinson

Stroll down "streets of fear"

USA Today reports on spooky street names across the nation.

FEARnet.com compiled a list called "streets of fear"; basically streets with names like Bloody Pond Road (pic. left) or Gore Orphanage Road. Most of them have some sort of historical or haunted story behind them.

Read the full story: Scary street names across the USA

Photo from FEARnet

Alaska polar bear sightseeing rise

USA Today reports on Alaska's boom in polar bear tourism.

It's not hard to understand the allure of these giant white bears. Regal and majestic, but also somehow cuddly, there is a natural magnetism that draws us. Add the sense that their future is in doubt, and it translates into heightened public interest in seeing bears. Worldwide, there are 19 known polar bear populations, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Two are in Alaska— the other is in the Chukchi Sea on the western coast.

In May 2008, the polar bear was listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act after research indicated the sea ice vital to the bears' existence is declining. The decline is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

Read the full story: Polar bear tourism booms on Alaska's North Slope

Photo by Steve Amstrup / U.S. Fish and Wild Life Service